EPD honors Eureka man for good deed

Eureka resident Larry McCurdy was awarded the Eureka Police Department's new Valor Service Challenge Coin Award and a letter of appreciation from EPD Chief Murl Harpham for his role in helping the EPD return a wallet with $300 in cash to its owner.

Eureka Police Department Sgt. Steve Watson presented McCurdy with the award during the Eureka City Council meeting on Tuesday.

"It's a honor to be recognized for doing something nice," McCurdy said. "I don't feel it's a great thing I did. I feel it's something almost everyone would do. I couldn't find the woman, so I turned it in to the police. If I could have found her I would have given it to her, and that would have been the end of it."

On April 6, McCurdy found a woman's wallet that contained more than $300 in cash, her driver's license, Social Security card and credit cards by a trash can at a car wash on the 1400 block of Broadway Street.

McCurdy attempted to locate the wallet's owner at the address listed on her driver's license and through a Facebook search, but was unsuccessful. He then brought the wallet to the EPD. An EPD officer was able to contact the woman who later picked up her wallet, the release said.

"I figured she might have been coming back to get it, I didn't know," McCurdy said. "I took it, looked through it to try and find her address, and I looked for a phone number, but couldn't find one. I went to Facebook, she didn't have a Facebook page."

"I was just thinking 'She had $300 some bucks in there, and probably was trying to get it,'" he said. "She probably had a plan for the weekend. I turned it into the police department. They found her in less than half an hour. It all worked out."

McCurdy is the second recipient to be honored, Watson said. Eureka resident Betty Chinn, a local philanthropist, was the first.

"He actually put some effort into getting the woman's lost property back," Watson said. "We thought he was deserving of recognition, so we gave him the award."

EPD started the award in January.

"Basically, we were looking for a way to honor and recognize individuals deserving of such recognition," Watson said. "Someone who took the time to do something extra to help fellow citizens out."

Eureka Mayor Frank Jager said he thinks the award is a great idea.

"We hear so many negatives all the time," Jager said. "When you come up with something positive like this it makes everybody feel good. The award presented (Tuesday) night is really just the tip of the iceberg. We have great things going on in our community every day."